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1mirrani
I was excited to win this book and dive into the world of harness racing, something I know very little about. It's a good who-done-it, if a little long winded at times, but an enjoyable beach read...
I was as oblivious to this sport as I was about curling or croquet, but I was having a good time anyway.
Wait, are you saying that people who like horse/harness racing automatically like other "obscure" sports like... wait.. I like Curling and Croquet too... Never mind, moving on. ;)
There was a lot of obligatory "this isn't cruelty" talk in the beginning of the book, you could tell the author was really trying to hit it home that not all trainers are bad, etc... and then made a trainer bad, so... I'm not sure the point there. :p
The learning about racing was a little clumsy too... but that's just my personal preferences.
Talking of professional bettors:
Their best work, however, was only about eighty percent successful--which happened to be much better than a baseball player's batting average.
Wow.. Maybe I /should/ start betting, if I'm out-doing the pros.
There was a LOT of rehashing chapters we had already read, as if they were totally different books farther back in the series. I was also put off by the grammar lectures and the "I'm so stupid because I was in the army and didn't go to college" mentality of the secondary investigator. Having him be the idiot who always asks questions on vocabulary for the benefit of the readers was real annoying.
I wanted to tie him to the roof of my car and drive to Alaska. I chose not to.
I liked that line. Made me smile.
K.O. thought it strange that someone still living would have a building named after him, and an office in it where he could quietly work.
Um.. buildings are named after people who are alive all the time... Are you trying to say it's strange having to work in said building... or what?
There's a point in the book where everything the main character learned about horse racing is told again.. BY the main character. "And you know this because?" is what follows... He knows it because he was TOLD it and for some reason the one asking the question is the one who has switched sides as far as the ethics of racing goes. Total continuity disappointment here.
There was a betting window downstairs, right behind the bar that Glenn had mentioned most of the horsemen preferred because of the betting clerk, Mildred, who'd been there several years longer than forever.
Another good bit... somewhat clumsy, but worth the smile.
At the end, there's a long talk from the author about racing and how most people are good and whatnot. It's worth the read. It's good to have someone who's in the business talk about it openly and candidly.
I was as oblivious to this sport as I was about curling or croquet, but I was having a good time anyway.
Wait, are you saying that people who like horse/harness racing automatically like other "obscure" sports like... wait.. I like Curling and Croquet too... Never mind, moving on. ;)
There was a lot of obligatory "this isn't cruelty" talk in the beginning of the book, you could tell the author was really trying to hit it home that not all trainers are bad, etc... and then made a trainer bad, so... I'm not sure the point there. :p
The learning about racing was a little clumsy too... but that's just my personal preferences.
Talking of professional bettors:
Their best work, however, was only about eighty percent successful--which happened to be much better than a baseball player's batting average.
Wow.. Maybe I /should/ start betting, if I'm out-doing the pros.
There was a LOT of rehashing chapters we had already read, as if they were totally different books farther back in the series. I was also put off by the grammar lectures and the "I'm so stupid because I was in the army and didn't go to college" mentality of the secondary investigator. Having him be the idiot who always asks questions on vocabulary for the benefit of the readers was real annoying.
I wanted to tie him to the roof of my car and drive to Alaska. I chose not to.
I liked that line. Made me smile.
K.O. thought it strange that someone still living would have a building named after him, and an office in it where he could quietly work.
Um.. buildings are named after people who are alive all the time... Are you trying to say it's strange having to work in said building... or what?
There's a point in the book where everything the main character learned about horse racing is told again.. BY the main character. "And you know this because?" is what follows... He knows it because he was TOLD it and for some reason the one asking the question is the one who has switched sides as far as the ethics of racing goes. Total continuity disappointment here.
There was a betting window downstairs, right behind the bar that Glenn had mentioned most of the horsemen preferred because of the betting clerk, Mildred, who'd been there several years longer than forever.
Another good bit... somewhat clumsy, but worth the smile.
At the end, there's a long talk from the author about racing and how most people are good and whatnot. It's worth the read. It's good to have someone who's in the business talk about it openly and candidly.
